Scientific writing: ready for the journey?
- Paula Silva
- 17 de fev. de 2021
- 5 min de leitura
Tips to success: You do not need to work a lot; you need to learn to work SMART!!
By Catarina Carvalho, Ana Sofia Silva and Rute Pereira
Writing is a critical part of the scientific process. Yet, every high-school student and scientist knows that the writing phase is a major challenge and can be a painful experience, leading several students to dropout. But this is an art that does not have to be a nightmare. Check these tips to make your writing easier.

1- Make a perfect pick!
Often neglected, but a major step to get your article published is choosing, from the very beginning, the proper journal to publish your work. WHY? Different journals have different styles and publication requirements, such as word count, abstract format, and way of citing references; so, precociously choosing the journal, will economy time! Instead of rearranging your paper to fit the journal, if you write it in required molds at the beginning, you are saving time, energy and words.
But how do I choose the best journal? To get the answers, you first need to do yourself a couple questions. Can you wait? It is common sense that authors always aim high; good journals usually have higher citation numbers and readers. However, usually the most prestigious journals take longer to accept papers. Younger authors generally hurry more into publishing as they may depend on publications to apply for certain positions and scholarships. Defining your acceptable and desirable time to acceptance will guide your choice of journal. What is your target? Before writing your paper, you should define what is the main message and which is your main audience. Browse the journals latest publications to check if it matches your article. This will increase your chances at acceptance.
Another tips: go peer reviewed. Although multilayered reviews take longer, the content and value of the paper are safeguard by the multiple evaluations. Further, considering open access. Some journals offer partial or total access to their contents to readers, by charging publication fees to authors. Despite the price, a paid publication guarantees a wider readership.
2- Set short- and long-term goals!
Before you start writing, lay down your short- and long-term goals. Establish a realistic timetable and outline to complete the work, and then comply with it. Setting goals helps trigger new behaviors and guides your focus. It will help you back on track, especially if you are alone in your writing. Goals also promote a sense of self-mastery. In the end, you can’t manage what you don’t measure, and you can’t improve something that you don’t manage. Setting goals can help you do all of that and more.
For short goals, you can create a S.M.A.R.T. (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time‐bound) writing plan, or use the Pomodoro technique (25‐minute working sessions followed by 5‐minute breaks that you cycle through 2–4 times in a row per session). Try start with goals lower than you would like. In that way, you are sure that you finish and avoids frustrations.
For long‐term goals, start with an external deadline; if you don’t have one, create one (or ask a friend to do it for you). Deadlines help improve the effectiveness of a goal and a learning goal orientation leads to higher performance when compared to a performance goal orientation. Work backward to make a plan for hitting your objective.
3- Paragraph one!
After defining your main message and target journal, it’s time to start writing. Brace yourself to an emotional rollercoaster. Bad writing days are going to happen. We gathered some advice to transform your matterhorn into a highway. Structure your storyline by defining your idea and prepare a draft for your introduction and discussion sections. Start by dividing your main sections into short topics; this will help you orient your text into the main idea that you want to focus on. After constructing your paper’s skeleton, build your library; gather significant publications regarding your paper and highlight their main ideas. From here, you should start transforming your notes into structured sentences; make sure that each paragraph summarizes the essential information and adequately bridges to the next paragraph.
4- Create a perfect environment!
To write productively you need to have a perfect environment, that is, a comfortable space that gives you enough space for all essentials (including your coffee mug). But you need to have only the essential, this means that you must separate from any distractions (TV, mute your phone, and so on).
Prepare your comfortable and distraction-free workspace, then take 5 minutes to relax, take the stress off your shoulders, and then concentrate and start to write.
5- Say no to ‘Multi-Tasking’!
Scientists have shown that multi-tasking causes distraction, stress, loss of focus and lead to a reduction of productivity and creativity. So, organize your work and do not try to write and do other things synchronously. Do a priority “TO DO LIST” may be useful and then, follow it sequentially and not simultaneously.
A hidden ‘multi-task’, and a common mistake in scientific writing, is to generate the scientific content and simultaneously revise it (i.e. correct your text). Drafting and revising have opposite requirements on human brain, thus do it simultaneously generate stress, frustrations, and reduces your productivity. To make your journey easier, draft freely, take a break, drink a coffee, get some fresh air and, only then, revise what you have written. A free‐write warm‐up is an exercise that has been defended by several writers with great results. It consists of taking a 5/10‐minutes “warm‐up” before you begin working, in which the only rule is: you cannot stop writing until the clock rings.
6- Reward yourself!
Incentive driven work will offer motivation for extraordinary work. Whatever your approach may be, whether you enjoy the process of writing or the end result, it is good to celebrate all your achievements. Reward yourself for every little victory. Drink your favorite drink, eat at your favorite restaurant or buy that thing you wanted– whatever is more memorable. It boosts self-esteem and job satisfaction and increases work morale. It promotes adherence and you will be more willing to continue. Writing success is appraised by what is finished, not by what is attempted.
Further reading
Bavdekar SB, Save S. Choosing the Right Journal for a Scientific Paper. J Assoc Physicians India. 2015;63(6):56-8. PMID: 26710401 Bavdekar SB, Save S. Choosing the Right Journal for a Scientific Paper. J Assoc Physicians India. 2015 Jun;63(6):56-8. PMID: 26710401.
Bredemeier K, Berenbaum H, Brockmole JR, Boot WR, Simons DJ, Most SB. A load on my mind: evidence that anhedonic depression is like multi-tasking. Acta Psychol (Amst). 2012;139(1):137-45. doi: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2011.11.007.
Gemayel R. How to write a scientific paper. FEBS J. 2016;283(21):3882-3885. doi: 10.1111/febs.13918Gemayel R. How to write a scientific paper. FEBS J. 2016 Nov;283(21):3882-3885. doi: 10.1111/febs.13918. PMID: 27870269.
Grogan, K. E. Writing Science: What Makes Scientific Writing Hard and How to Make It Easier. Bull Ecol Soc Am.2021; 102(1):e01800. Doi:10.1002/bes2.1800.
Sayer, EJ. The essentials of effective scientific writing–A revised alternative guide for authors. Functional Ecology. 2019; 33(9): 1576-1579. Doi:10.1111/1365-2435.13391
Comments